Max Starks, Former Steelers Offensive Lineman/CFB Analyst

Hey, I'm Thamy Redwood, host of the podcast Beyond Black History Month. Here's reason number 568 million of why you should be listening. From in-depth reporting on the shortage of black sperm to how one house of the dragon star is dealing with online trolls who don't love seeing black dragon writers.

I can't lose sleep over that, over worrying about things that are beyond my control. Listen and subscribe to Beyond Black History Month on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Thamy Redwood, host of the podcast Beyond Black History Month.

Here's reason number 568 million of why you should be listening. From in-depth reporting on the shortage of black sperm to how one house of the dragon star is dealing with online trolls who don't love seeing black dragon writers. I can't lose sleep over that, over worrying about things that are beyond my control.

Listen and subscribe to Beyond Black History Month on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. Max, how you been, my friend? I'm doing good, Zach. I can't complain. I got to play golf today, so that's something that usually doesn't happen during football season, so I'm excited.

How'd you hit them? Our team won. We won the RFK tournament, the 33rd annual Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights tournament, so I feel good. Two-time winner at this event, so I'm feeling high right now. Now, congratulations first off, but did you play well? Did they have to carry you along, or was this someone else leading the way? No, I carried my own. I actually won the whole prize.

I actually sunk a 30-foot putt-up for an eagle. I did my job, Zach. I did my job. When they call in the ringer, you've got to show up in big-time moments. How would you evaluate your golf game if you had to give me a full scouting report? Don't take him for granted, but don't expect greatness. Kind of like your NFL career, it sounds like. Yeah, exactly. It's a team sport.

You've got to play within the concert. I'm 111, and I just played my 111. Zach Starks here with us. If Bryce Young does play for Alabama this weekend, I feel like he will, but that's not with any knowledge.

It's just a feeling that I have. What could we expect from Bryce Young coming off that injury of the AC Joint Spring? Well, I think the biggest thing is you're going to see a lot more protected throws, so meaning a lot more on-the-move, kind of low-to-intermediate level throws.

I don't think you're going to see him really stretch the field. I think they're going to really try and lean on Jabir Gibbs and lean on the motion and movement of Bryce Young to kind of mask the fact that he can't drop back and just launch at 50 yards. So you're going to see, I think, a lot more movement from them, but a lot of play action, a lot of run game emphasis with the offensive line, which, you know, for Tennessee, that's going to be one of their Achilles heels, right? I mean, the defense holding back what they can do because you don't know what Bryce Young is going to do, and he can't hurt you with his feet as well as his arm, so that anonymity is going to really hurt them. But the biggest thing is going to be, can Alabama actually keep up with the scoring that Tennessee can present?

Because Tennessee likes to spread you out, likes you to declare early, and that's where they take advantage of you. So can Alabama possess the ball long enough to mitigate the scoring capabilities of Tennessee? This Alabama team, and I usually never doubt them, but there's been a lot of uncharacteristic things we've been seeing for them this year. Penalties, turnovers, when you look at the games against Texas and then also Texas A&M, are you concerned about this Alabama team that maybe they're not as good as what we thought they were heading into the year? I think the biggest thing is that this is the one year where when you look at Saban and look at the authority that he holds, this is probably one of the teams that he doesn't have as much of a grasp over.

Because normally he can actually pump the heart to create the heartbeat for this team. And I think this team kind of responds a little bit different. My little cousin, Jermaine Burton Jr., is on that squad.

He transferred over from Georgia. And it seems to be a different squad. Like when they get in rhythm, they're great and they look like classic Alabama.

But the problem is when they are out of sync, it's really bad and you can notice it. But Bryce Young really cures all those ills. And so when you don't have Bryce Young in the lineup, and you saw when Jalen Millrow was in there, it's a struggle. He's talented, but he doesn't have the reps.

He doesn't have the cachet. He doesn't have the respect of the opposing defenses. So you really need Bryce Young in there to really command that extra level of sophistication and discipline by that defense so that you can exploit it.

But when he's not in that lineup, that's when it becomes more of an issue. So, I mean, if you want to beat Tennessee, not to say that Bryce Young is the end-all be-all, but he's going to be a reason why they win and not a reason why they lose. Not to cause any problems in the family, but how do you kind of evaluate that wide receiver room? Because for so many years, Alabama's had three, four, five great wide receivers that have gone early in the first round, second round of the draft. And this year, that wide receiving room just doesn't look like a normal Alabama wide receiving room. Yeah, they're underperforming greatly.

I mean, you know, the attention to detail, like you said, the dynamic play capability is not there. You don't have that guy who can literally break loose like a Jamison Williams or a Julio Jones or Devontae Smith. I mean, we can name receivers right from that list.

I mean, it's more of a possession. It's kind of like, you know, here's the NFL equivalent, how Kansas City is, where they don't have the Tyreek Hill anymore. They have the Jujus and the Marquez Valdes, Scandalings and company.

That's what their team is. There's great possession receivers, but there's no breakaway, explosive play receivers in this offense. So I think you have to rely more on kind of that old 2012 Alabama where it was led by the running back group. So Jameer Gibbs is your bell cow in full essence.

Bryce Young is the one that's going to move the needle with a little bit additional rush, but also put the ball in an accurate place to where you can move the chains. But nobody's going to break off 70, 80-yard runs. Do you think Tennessee will be ready for the moment? Because they've had a great year. Everyone's praising them leading into this matchup, even though Alabama doesn't look as great as they have been in recent years. But it's still Alabama at the end of the day, and they're still an undefeated football team. It's still Alabama.

You've got to respect them until otherwise given, right? I mean, this team has done it for over a decade, and they are a mainstay when you're talking about college football. You can't mention college football without mentioning the brand that is Alabama football. And they're going to be there until they get beat.

And I think that's how you have to treat them with respect. But you have to say that Tennessee is building. Tennessee is coming.

I think Hendon Hooker is a pure bonafide Heisman candidate. And this is going to be another test for them. If they can get over this test and the Georgia test, if you beat these two, I mean, it's tremendous. But if you lose in a very competitive game to one, if not both of them, Tennessee still come back. Tennessee has truly solidified themselves as a top-three team in the SEC. And they just have to go out and play.

You can't play tense. You've got to play loose. Because all the pressures on the teams that are given those number one and number two slots and number three slots in the college football ranking and in the AP polls. But if you go out there and you acquit yourself really well, yeah, Tennessee is that real of a threat. And I think offensively they are. Defensively they are probably about a year away. But the way your offense is conducting itself and the way that they spread teams out by going all the way literally to the sidelines with some of their splits and forcing teams to declare, it's something that you can't – you have to show your cards to them. And once you show your cards to them, they're a very deadly team, especially with Hendon Hooker and Josh Heifel at the play-call acquisition. Who are you picking to win this game between Bama and Tennessee, Max Starks? What's the line again, Zach?

Give it to me real fast. It's moved up now to Alabama minus nine points. Tennessee to cover that. I don't know if they're going to win, but I say they cover that nine points, Brad.

Fair enough. Oklahoma State, TCU. I know everyone's talking about Alabama, Tennessee. I think this is going to be probably the best game of the weekend. Just because Alabama, Tennessee, it would not surprise me if it ends up being a blowout. That nine-point line seems a little bit fishy to me. But Oklahoma, Tennessee, I think we're just going to get a lot of points, and this is going to be a back-and-forth track meet.

No, absolutely. I mean, what you have in TCU, TCU has come out and defied the odds the entire time. They've been a team that has gone out and defied odds against everybody. I mean, up until last week, I believe the Big 12 Championship resided in the state of Kansas. And now, since TCU has emerged, I think these two teams are the next best. But I think Kansas is still going to have one of the two representatives in the Big 12 Championship. I think it will be Kansas State now over Kansas, because I feel like the run is kind of over for them. But TCU has been the team that I've looked at. Oklahoma State has been a state of consistency over the last couple of years under Gundy. But I think TCU is a team that's going to take it.

But you're right. It's going to be a high-scoring affair. I don't like both of these defenses, but I do love both of their offenses.

And I think it's going to be a game of who has the possession last. For USC Utah, and the Pac-12 has been better than what anyone could have expected this year, but I think USC is the best team in the Pac-12. But does this get the feel of this is a game where the Pac-12 shoots itself in the foot, where Utah already has two losses, we know they're a good team on paper, but then USC drops this one this weekend and they go to 6-1? I'm with you, Zach, because, like you said, Lincoln, Riley, Caleb, Williams, and company, they utilize their transfer portal better than anybody this offseason, and they build a juggernaut. But I can't discount Utah.

Cam Rising, I've watched them for the last two years. I actually called the Pac-12 championship a year ago. And that Utah squad is just such a veteran squad.

They got the experience on their side. And I think this is one of those where you upset the apple cart, and this is what costs you the college football playoff berth for USC right before they leave to go to the Big Ten. But I do like Utah in this game because I think they can match up with USC better than a lot of other teams in the Pac-12. Is Michigan on upset alert this week hosting Penn State? Yes, I think they are because I think Michigan's schedule does not play into their strengths. They have a very light schedule, so they need every win to be convincing, and I think Penn State brings a running game with both of those young guys in the backfield. That's going to give Michigan problems. The defense is good in pass rush situations, but they're not great against the rush. And I think this is going to get exploited, and Penn State's really strong against a run, and the quarterback position kind of plays off of them.

I think Penn State's going to sneak this and kind of upset the apple cart in the Big Ten and hurt Michigan. When it comes to your program in Florida, the school that you went to, I know that they had that big win early in the year, and then you have some growing pains when you have a new head coach, even though Billy Napier did a great job in his last job. Anthony Richardson, what do you think his pro prospects are, because there was a lot of talk about him being potentially the first quarterback off the board after that big win up against Utah. I think it's just overinflated expectations for Anthony Richardson. I think Anthony has to play more. He needs the experience, and he's getting that good, better, and different. You could see him transforming as a passer, especially when you look at that Tennessee game, right, over 400 yards passing in that contest. Of course it was a losing effort, but he's growing, and I think he needs that requisite experience.

I don't think he comes out this year. I think he has to wait another year, and then after next year, I think he is that guy that we believed him to be this year, just a year deferred. But he's learning a lot under Billy Napier and that coaching staff. They're really teaching those guys how to play football and creating the culture that he wants for sustained success over the years. Before we let you run, Max Starks, you being a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers, you winning two Super Bowls with that franchise, knowing Coach Mike Tomlin well. Steelers in a rough spot right now at one and four.

It seems like this is going to be the first year he's going to finish below.500. What do you say to Steelers fans that may be on the side of, hey, maybe it's time to part ways with Mike Tomlin as the head coach? I'd like to say, first of all, stop drinking that Kool-Aid that you're drinking and do not follow a spaceship.

You are in the wrong cult right now. But the first thing is I'll say you've enjoyed unprecedented success over the last 18 years. This is how the rest of the NFL has to deal with on a more often basis. The first, quote, unquote, losing season, which we still have 12 games left in this season to prove that so, but you have a rookie quarterback at the helm. You have a rookie wide receiver. You have a second year tied in, a second year left tackle, a second year running back in key positions on this team. Plus, you're without T.J. Watt for the better part of probably, I'd say, seven weeks out of this season.

Patience is a virtue, and patience pays off. And yes, this year might not be up to the standards that you want, but understand that you had 18 years of greatness. A lot of teams can't sport that. You have the number four overall win percentage in all of NFL history since 1970, since the AFL-NFL merger. Calm down a little bit.

It takes transitions, and I know you're not used to it, but this is what people go through, and the fact that we went through it for the first time in 18 years, you should be grateful. And here's what I'll say. If they were to get rid of him, which they're not going to after this season, I think Tomlin would be in a better spot for his future than the Steelers would be because he's such a damn good coach, and if he becomes available, you know a team like the Chargers or the Broncos or the Cowboys would scoop him up in a second. Oh, they would fire their sitting head coach, even if they had no plans of firing him. A lot of teams would fire head coaches to get him in there. Like, he would be the most sought-after head coach in all of football, college and pro included.

So you realize that the grass is not greener if you lose Mike Tomlin. Well, you know this, when we were together at Sirius, I loved hosting shows with you. Always great to have you on here on CBS Sports Radio. Have a good weekend and keep on hitting them straight, all right? Hey, my pleasure, Zach.

You have a great night and a great weekend, but I'll talk to you soon. Hey, I'm Thamy Redwood, host of the podcast Beyond Black History Month. Here's reason number 568 million of why you should be listening. From in-depth reporting on the shortage of black sperm to how one house of the dragon star is dealing with online trolls who don't love seeing black dragon riders.

I can't lose sleep over that, over worrying about things that are beyond my control. Listen and subscribe to Beyond Black History Month on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Thamy Redwood, host of the podcast Beyond Black History Month. Here's reason number 568 million of why you should be listening. From in-depth reporting on the shortage of black sperm to how one house of the dragon star is dealing with online trolls who don't love seeing black dragon riders.

I can't lose sleep over that, over worrying about things that are beyond my control. Listen and subscribe to Beyond Black History Month on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Thamy Redwood, host of the podcast Beyond Black History Month. Here's reason number 568 million of why you should be listening. From in-depth reporting on the shortage of black sperm to how one house of the dragon star is dealing with online trolls who don't love seeing black dragon riders. I can't lose sleep over that, over worrying about things that are beyond my control. Listen and subscribe to Beyond Black History Month on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts.